Back on the wagon!

8st 3lbs

Well today has been pretty tough to be honest. I have got so used to eating what I want when I want that going back to the attack phase is pretty depressing! The only good thing is that having been through it before I know it does work!

So for lunch I brought some plain chargrilled chicken from M&S and quest for 24 minutes for the privilege.....that's what having a lunch break in London is all about!

I ate my chicken when I got back to work, it had that horrible smell that only cooked chicken that has been sealed has! Anyway I made myself eat it all! After that I had a can of diet coke, hoping it would take the taste away, it did.....a bit!

I then started feeling a little peckish and remembered that I had my yogurt in the fridge which I had not yet eaten with the oatbran. Now if anyone here can tell me that they genuinely enjoy oatbran and yogurt when it goes all clumpy then I'll be damned!

We had a team meeting called late afternoon and can you believe it, free crisps, snacks AND cupcakes. I sat there very VERY tempted but remained loyal to the diet coke in my hand and left the meeting feeling very pleased with my will power!

When I got home I popped to the shops to stock up on some Dukan bits which I had run out of/gone out of date.

I decided that for dinner u would have mini chicken fillets with a tiny bit of Nandos sauce done on the George Forman. Now I know that is not strictly in the attack phase however I always used it in my PP days and it was fine!

I also decided to make some Dukan bread so I can have sandwiches for the next three days. I have made it loads of times so went about doing the same although I remember thinking when I put it in the oven...it's quite runny! Anyway half way into cooking I remembered I forgot the wheatbran, which I think you'll agree is quite an important ingredient when making bread! So I have some form of bread ready to take to work tomorrow....I will let you know what it's like!

I would give today a 4/10.

Back to the Dukan!

It is almost coming up to a year since I started the Dukan Diet and I can whole heartedly say it was the best thing I have ever done HOWEVER I have not been very good at sticking to it! I would say that I stopped eating Oatbran on a regular basis back in October last year and my pure protein days have not always occurred!

I have pretty much been eating what I like whenever I like so I guess you are expecting me to say that I have put on a stone or something but actually that is not the case.

My target weight was 8st 2lbs. When I started the diet I was 8st 12lbs. I got down to 7st 12lbs and I would say that I maintained this weight until about 2 months ago. I then seemed to always be about 8st however today I almost died when I went on the scales and was 8st 3lbs!! Now I know this may not sound a lot but it is a huge jump to me and I’ll be dammed if I let that continue…after all I have just sold a load of my old clothes on ebay and I cannot afford to replace my new ones!

I know that the last few weeks have been particularly bad, what with all the jubilee celebrations etc and we have had a few birthdays but I am 100% not going to let my weight slide again!

So on my way to work I stopped and brought a low fat yogurt which I had with some oat bran and I intend to start eating this again everyday as this really is the thing that keeps your metabolism going.

Tonight I am going to go and stock up on all things Dukan too. My plan is to do two days attack to kick start my body and then, from there see how I go.  I found that I really enjoyed my tuna sandwiches so I am certainly going to be having them all week. I think that is why I have put on the weight, I now work in London and there are always so many yummy places to eat!

Anyway please wish me luck and I would love to hear how you are all getting on!

Day 24 - Cruise/Consolidation

Day 24 - Cruise/Consolidation

Today I had a family funeral so I must admit I didn't feel that hungry in the morning so once again I didn't have my porridge, bad i know!

I had half a day off for the funeral so had to be back by work for 2pm. As we were rushing around in the morning i forgot to bring anything with me for lunch so i stopped at the local Italian delicatessen and had a baguette with breaded chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. I must say i did munch on a handful of the crisps they gave me too.........

As i felt i had indulged at lunch I had a ham omlette for dinner and then had my chocolate porridge before i went to bed to make sure i still had my oatbran!

I will be really interested to see what the scales say about me having a baguette for lunch!

I'd give this day a 6/10

x

Day 23 - Cruise/Consolidation

Day 23 - Cruise/Consolidation

Well to be honest the scales were kind to me this morning! I put on 1lb so i am 8st 2lb which is my target weight so I am fine with that!

When i got into work i was called into a meeting straight away so didn't have a chance to have my porridge, again!

For lunch i had Salmon with bread but seeing as i ran out of yeast to break my own bread last night I actually had two slices of wholemeal Hovis bread. You are allowed 2 slices a day on the consolidation period however i am making my own bread tonight as, like i mentioned on my previous blog, i am going to stick to the cruise diet as much as possible this week. I had to have it without any Philli too as I forgot to bring it into work! It was ok though!

I had Chicken & Mushrooms for dinner which i must admit i do really enjoy! I then had my porridge at about 10pm as I am conscious to get my daily oatbran in!

I'd give today 7/10!

x

Day 22 - Cruise/Consolidation

Day 22 - Cruise/Consolidation

After getting over the shock of reaching the consolidation period a week early i was even more taken aback to find that, when i got on the scales, i was 1lb lighter therefore meaning I was now at 8st 1lb and my target weight was 8st 2lb!

My Mum rang us and asked if we wanted to go to a charity football and curry afternoon so we decided to go. When you reach consolidation phase you can have a celebratory meal so i decided the curry would be it! I had chicken curry, a very small portion of rice and and onion bargie. I didn't eat it all though as there was a small piece of chocolate brownie with my name all over it!

I then did something really naughty......there was an ice cream van selling ice creams (funny that) with all the proceeds going to charity so i couldn't resist having a mint Cornetto. I know i know i had already had dessert but i was 1lb under my target weight so i did let my hair down a little.

When I came home I had a ham omlette for dinner so i was good then! I guess we'll see what the scales say tomorrow morning.....as long as i am at my target weight I'll  be happy!

Although I am in the consolidation phase I have decided that I am going to try and stick to the cruise diet as much as possible. I had in my head I would be doing it until Friday anyway and to be honest if i could get down to 8st then it means even if i put 1lb or 2 on after a big meal etc then I will still be at my target weight.

I'd give this day 9/10!

x

Day 21 - Cruise

Day 21 - Cruise PV

I got on the scales today and not only had i not put on weight but i had reached my target weight!!! 1 whole week early! I was so excited and couldn't wait to update my daily report!

For my lunch I had Salmon and bread like yesterday as i enjoyed it so much we then went off to Westfield. I realised when we got to Westfield that I was so excited about reaching my target weight that i had forgotten to have my poriddge! Westfield was a nightmare as on every corner there were cupcakes and crepes and they are my two favourite things in the whole world!

On our way back we decided to go and see The Inbetweeners at the cinema. It is bloody typical, we haven't been to the cinema in ages and we have now been twice in the last 3 weeks so have had to resist the little yellow packets of M&M's crying out to me!

Before I went out I had my Nandos sckwers which filled me up and i also took a snack size bottle of Diet Coke.

I shouldn't have worried about the M&M's to be fair as the film was so funny i didn't even have time to think about it!

I'd give this day a 9/10!

x

Day 20 - Cruise

Day 20 - Cruise

As you can tell i was really fed up yesterday.....i guess everyone has days like that but it honestly was a shocking day!

For breakfast  had my normal porridge although i must admit, i didn't finish it all, just felt so full. I also honestly could not stomach the idea of tuna for lunch so i decided to have Salmon with a bit of extra light Philadelphia on bread and it was actually really nice!

We got an invite to our friends house warming in the evening and everyone was ordering take away pizzas. I did toy with the idea of eating an omlette before i went out however i knew when everyone's food arrived i'd feel awful so i decided to just order some chicken strips from Dominos. Now i know that the breadcrumbs on there will not have been good however i had no crisps, dips or a drop of alcohol so i thought i did pretty well!

I do have to confess though, i did have a bite size rocky road chocolate from M&S, i just couldn't help it!

I'd give today 7/10........i wonder what the scales will say tomorrow!

x

Day 19 - Cruise

Day 19 - Cruise PP

As you may have gathered I am fed up today! I couldn't stomach having my oatbran porridge today so I have been really naughty and not had my oatbran.....i know i know, i have to keep going, i think I am just getting bored of the repetitiveness which i know is my choice as i do it for ease! Oh well, i guess everyone has days like this! Tomorrow I may try to have bread with extra light philli and some salmon just to change it up a bit from my tuna sandwich!

When i weighed myself this morning i was dead on 8st 3lbs so i have exactly 1lb to lose and have 1 week until i am due to start my consolidation phase......wish me luck!

Did anyone watch Watchdog tonight on BBC 1? I must say that i signed up to the website for 3 months at £11 a month so I am not too sure where this £1 a day comes from! Also I have found the site really useful and for me it is the motivation i need to get into the swing of weighing myself everyday, keeping a check on my motivation and getting tips etc!

For dinner i had Chicken and Mushrooms which at the moment I am not bored of! Lol! Ahh well, i just have to see how baggy some of my clothes are to know it is all worth it!

I give today a 4/10!

x

1000 Views!!

Oh my goodness! I have just had notification that I have now had 1000 views on my blog since i started it 20 days ago!

I never for one moment thought it would even have 100 views as it's just silly old boring me writing about what I eat! I never thought anyone would be in the slightest bit interested in that!

Knowing each day people look to see what I am doing really helps to keep my motivation up as i don't want to let you all down. I hope I have helped you even a tiny bit to see that you are not the only one finding it hard, daunting and of course rewarding!

Thanks so so much once again

Lauren x

Day 18 - Cruise

Day 18 - Cruise PP

Well you may have guessed from my cartoon but i had a really odd day today in the sense that i didn't feel hungry at all! I didn't have my porridge this morning, don't worry i will eat it tonight! I just didn't feel hungry this morning and when it came to lunch i felt like i had to force my sandwiches down me.....maybe my stomach has shrunk?

I have decided to treat myself, kind of a reward for sticking to the diet (cough.....minus Sunday!) and brought myself and iPad...it may not arrive until Friday but I am super excited so maybe that is why I am not hungry!

For dinner tonight I had a ham omelette as i couldn't face the idea of having another disastrous dinner while on the PP day! I used Waitrose wafer thin ham today and it was actually a lot nicer then the Sainsburys one and when it is literally the only flavour it is important to have nice ham!

I'd give today a 7/10!

x

Oh and P.S. I seem to be missing 2 days! I should be on Day 20!

Day 17 - Cruise

Day 17 - Cruise PV

Well I was really pleased to see that I had lost the 1lb i put on yesterday when i went on the scales this morning! I guess the horrid dinner was worth it!

I had my porridge this morning and have no converted one of the girls in the office into having it in the morning too! Just before lunch though i had a sick feeling come over me....i don't think it was anything to do with the diet however it did mean that I didn't have any lunch as i was worried i couldn't stomach it.

When it got to about 3.30pm I thought i best eat something as starving yourself is not a way to lose weight! I had 3 slices of bread but no tuna as i didn't feel quite up to it. Again one of the girls decided to try the Dukan bread and she loved it! See it really isn't that bad!

When i got home i marinated some chicken pieces in a tiny bit of Nandos sauce as i made chicken skewers for dinner tonight. It was lovely and tasty especially after last nights disaster! I also had one of my panna cottas that i made yesterday however they were a bit lumpy this time......i must have been having an off day yesterday when it came to cooking!

I'd give this day an 7/10 as although i lost 1lb i didn't if that makes sense?! Lol!

x

Day 16 - Cruise

Day 16 - Cruise PP

My god, i cannot tell you how worried i was about stepping on the scales this morning.....i was thinking maybe 3 or 4 lbs from yesterdays binging session! On Saturday i was 8st 3lbs 2 ounces.....today i was 8st 4lbs 6 ounces! To be honest just over 1lb i was really pleased about....well as pleased as you can be about putting any weight on!

I got straight back into the diet though. We went food shopping so i got everything i needed for this week....by the way if you are eating a lot of chicken then Waitrose are doing a bit bag of about 8 chicken breast's, individually wrapped so you can keep them in the freezer for £7!

When i came home i had my usual ham omlette......i am boring when it comes to food aren't i! It works for me right now though! For dinner i decided to make the Creamy Garlic Chicken that i had made before but even after 3 attempts i just could not get this right but by then my chicken was cooked so had to make do with plain chicken which left me feeling very frustrated i must say!

I decided to have some jelly and a bowl of chocolate porridge before bed to fill me up!

I'd give today a 5/10

x

Day 15 - Cruise

Day 15 - Cruise PV

Well i think the picture says it all really doesn't it!

Today was my friends wedding and i knew there was no way in hell would i not be able to drink and not be able to eat the food put in front of me.I decided that was the way it was, i hadn't strayed one bit from the diet, well apart from a few sips of wine so i decided that to do it and beat myself up about it was doubly pointless.

So here is my list of shame:

4 glasses of Champagne
2 wholemeal bread roles
Leak & Potato soup
Roast Beef with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy
Chocolate Pecan tart
2 Lindt Chocolates
1 slice of wedding cake
1 sausage role
2 large potato wedges
and finally a bar of Galaxy Cookie Crumble for the journey home!

My god just to look at it makes me feel a bit sick! I noticed how bloated my stomach was after the wedding meal and i immediately had a bad stomach as i just don't think my body knew how to deal with it all. I actually felt horrible so the positive thing that i will take away from that spectacular fail of a day is how yucky you can feel when you stuff yourself with rubbish.

I'd give this day a 4/10......not proud of myself at all!

x

Day 14 - Cruise

Day 14 - PP

So today was a day i was kind of dreading if i am honest. Since starting on the Dukan Diet i have kept myself away from all social events that focus on drinking however my friends 30th was not something i could ignore.

I had my usual porridge in the morning and i had a ham omlette in the afternoon. To cheer myself up I spent a long while getting ready and feeling really good about myself. Dave had brought me a fab new MAC lipgloss to wear and i felt better about myself then i had in ages. It also helped that Dave said i looked really good which boosted my confidence a lot.

When we got out i had a lot of compliments from friends i hadn't seen for a while but i must admit not even that could make me feel that great when everyone around me was drinking and I was the only sober one! I was really proud of myself for staying strong though!

I'd give this day about a 7/10!

x

Day 13 - Cruise

Day 13 - Cruise PV

Well today it arrived and if you are wondering what i am talking about all i can say is that i should be rollerskating around with a dog on a lead singing 'oh Bodyform, Bodyform for you!' I had read that the diet can affect that but at least now i have a reason as to why i had put on 1lb yesterday!

For breakfast and lunch i had my usual however i could not wait for my chicken and mushroom as i really do love that dish!

At lunch time i went to get a new top to go with my skin tight leggings that i brought yesterday. It really was such a good feeling walking around the shops seeing things that i have avoided even trying on in so long as i knew they wouldn't fit and would leave me feeling really bad about myself.

My chicken and mushroom was as yummy as usual and i had loads of green beans with it, it's amazing how much you appreciate something when you can't normally have it!

I am dreading tomorrow however as we are going out for my friends 30th Birthday and I have decided to drive so i don't drink as we have a wedding on Sunday and i know that I'm going to have to write that day off for food and drink!!

I'd give this day an 8/10!

x

Day 12 - Cruise

Day 12 - Cruise PP

Oh dear......it has happened! I got on the scales this morning and i had put just under 1lb on. I was literally devestated. I know i had a PV day yesterday so i didn't expect to lose any weight however i didn't expect to put some on either! The only thing i can think of is that i did have a very large portion of Chicken and Mushrooms so maybe it's that.....i guess we'll see what the scales say tomorrow after my PP day!

I made my normal porridge today however i forgot to put sweetner in it today and it actually doesn' taste much different so what i would say is avoid putting it in as you can then use some of the allowance in other recipes!

I had my tuna mayo sandwich again today which is always lovely! I also decided to make some more Chocolate Panna Cotta's when i got home and actually put my sweetener allowence in that so i shall see how they turn out and let you know tomorrow! As the recipe only needed egg yolks i decided that i would make an egg white omelette so the whites don't go to waste. BIG MISTAKE! It had no flavour whatsoever and was almost rubbery! Such a let down when all i had to look forward to tonight was my omelette! Oh well never mind!

Seeing as i GAINED weight today and had a rubbery egg white omelette i give today....

4/10

x

Day 11 - Cruise

Day 11 - Cruise PV

I was so looking forward to today. It's funny really because normally i can take or leave vegetables but right now i pretty much live for my PV days, luckily for me that is every other day!

When i weighed myself this morning i seemed to have a few different readings so when i got into work i popped across to Boots and went on one of their scales. According to them i am 8st 5lbs so without my clothes that makes me about 8st 4lbs.8 which is what i had down! By the way does anyone know what measurement unit is after the pounds on the scales? I would really like to know!

I don't suppose i really need to tell you what i had for breakfast and lunch as it is the same as usual. I know i have said it before but for me this works the best on the diet as it's 2 meals i don't have to worry about a day!

For dinner i was torn between the Nandos chicken skewers with vegetables which were lush or the chicken and mushrooms. In the end i made my decision based on the fact that Dave was at the gym therefore i might as well make use of the hob while he is not in, the Nandos chicken skewers can be done on the George Forman!

Last time i put too much water into it so this time i added 100ml, funnily enough just like the recipe suggested! I also added a tiny few grains of garlic granuals. The whole meal was lovely as well as my broccoli and green beans. You really need to try it if you haven't!

Dave came back in with a Chocolate Surprise from Waitrose. I was so jealous that i just felt like raiding our fridge of all our chocolate however i resisted and instead I'm now just munching my way through some sugar free jelly.....that's if it is possible to munch jelly!! I'll leave you with that thought!

Today was 7/10!

x

Day 10 - Cruise

Day 10 - Cruise PP

As you can imagine i was very very nervous about going on the scales this morning due to my big Indian meal, (although all the ingredients were allowed) as well as my half glass of wine so you can imagine my surprise when i had actually lost weight! I was down to 8st 4lb 3/4! I am now only 2 3/4 lbs off my target weight so i am very happy!

I made sure that i had my chocolate oatbran porridge today too! For lunch, as i was on a PP day i had a ham omlette and made some Dukan Bread for my sandwiches next week.

I was unsure about what to have for dinner so in the end i opted for the Creamy Garlic Chicken however this time i only used 3 cloves of garlic and added some fine herbes and some basil which actually made it very tasty!

After my Creamy Garlic Chicken i went for some strawberry jelly and a nice cup of peppermint tea!

All in all a good day!

7/10

x

Day 9 - Cruise

Day 9 - Cruise PV

Well i can tell you know that this day went pretty much out of the window....well ok not totally but a bit!

Firstly my mistake was that, as it was Saturday i lay in until 10am and then realised we had to be at a house to view it within an hour so no chocolate porridge therefore no oatbran! This is the first day since i started that i have missed it. House viewings took a lot longer then anticipated and had to grab something between houses. I always forget how hard this is when 'grabbing' something while on the go however i made do with char grilled chicken from Salisbury's and an iced vanilla latte from Starbucks, skimmed milk and sugar free syrup of course!

We got home about 3pm so i decided to make myself an omlette as just a packet of chicken hadn't really filled the hole! It was around this time to wonder down to our local Indian as it was a sunny night. I had asked on the live Dukan chat on Friday what i could have from the Indian so i wasn't worried about that. I would order Chicken Tikka for starter and Chicken Shashlik for main as it came with peppers, tomatoes and onions!

The problem wasn't the Indian it was the sitting outside the Indian with a very small but albeit glass of white wine! I just couldn't help it! I drank half of it and left the other half and decided not beat myself up about it as that makes it even more pointless if it makes me feel miserable!

After the Indian, seeing as i couldn't have any dessert (let alone the poppadoms and naan bread!) i had one of my chocolate panna cottas when i came home.

I had a really good day and felt positive however it was annoying when i was out and about and came up against the same problem what to eat and obviously i did slip with my half a glass of wine!

I'd say it was 6/10!

x

Day 8 - Cruise

Day 8 - Cruise PP

So i have now been on the Dukan Diet 1 week and celebrated by starting my day the normal way with the chocolate oat bran porridge.......mmmmm it is yummy! I didn't snack on anything between breakfast and lunch however i did hit a problem. McDonalds is right across the road and when i went outside all i could smell is the delicious cheeseburgers. I can honestly say i wanted to go in and buy 10 of them and to make it worse i was standing there thinking 10 days ago there would have been nothing stopping me from going in there and ordering a cheeseburger and fries! Just writing about it now makes me feel hungry! Oh well i plodded back to the office and had my tuna sandwich!

The next problem I had was that Dave and I decided to go and see Harry Potter that evening. You may be wondering why this is a problem, after all it's nice to go the cinema is it not?? NO is the answer to that when you can't watch the film with a bag of peanut M&M's in your lap! The thought of passing all the sweets, ice cream and popcorn was literally like torture.

I decided to try and fill myself up before i went so hopefully i wouldn't feel like eating anything anyway! As we were in a rush to get the cinema i put 2 chicken breasts on the George Foreman grill and brushed a light coating of Nandos sauce on them. I have to admit that after the 2 chicken breasts i was full up however i thought to be on the safe side i would take 2 small slices of my Dukan Bread!

The film was great, make sure you see it if you haven't, but it really was hard not having and sweets or popcorn!

I'd say this day was about 5/10 as i did feel a lot of frustration however i did get through it! Yay!

x